Asia and Western Europe are leading the way to third-generation (3G) wireless technology with the U.S. lagging far behind, two new studies claim.

According to the studies by the Strategis Group, several Asian and European markets will deploy 3G networks in 2002. By contrast, similar services won't roll out in the U.S. until 2004, according to the studies.

"Finland, Japan, and the United Kingdom will be first to market in deploying 3G, said Heather Henyon, analyst with The Strategis Group. "While these countries may not be the largest markets for wireless Internet services, demand for increased capacity and the readiness of end-users to adopt 3G services is the most assured."

These countries also are ahead of the U.S. in deploying so-called 2.5G services, which are considered interim steps to 3G. 3G service will support wireless access speeds as high as 384Kbps. Access with 2.5G service is half that speed or slower. The fastest commonly-available wireless access speed currently is 19.2Kbps.

The studies are: Third Generation Wireless: Strategies for Global Markets and Next Generation Wireless: U.S. 2.5/3G Marketplace reports.